FOMC Should STFU

Central banks may do more harm than good by announcing intentions based on often-wrong forecasts.

The Federal Open Mouth Committee convenes a two-day meeting Tuesday and once again the key outcome will be what the panel says, not what it does.

Forgive me for repeating the reverse of the famous dictum of John Mitchell, Nixon's attorney general, but it applies more than ever to what's officially known as the Federal Open Market Committee. What the policy-setting panel says will count more than what it will do, which will be...